1991 Geo Metro EV --RETIRED

1991 Geo Metro LSI Hatchback I have retired this vehicle. All parts have been sold off to pay for my used Nissan Leaf purchase. It's has been a lot of fun but this concluded my EV conversion projects. At least for now.

12/5/2012: Just installed them this week.
12/10/2014: Nearly 17,000 miles later and they are still performing like new.

System Voltage

79 Volts

Charger

Elcon PFC-150011/26/2012 Got my batteries but just found out
the charger doesn't work. Argg..
12/10/2012 got a replacement charger.
Yeah!

Heater

Small 12V heater. I also insulated my garage
and it never gets lower than 40 degrees F in
the winter time, even when it is 12 degrees F
outside. I wear a coat, gloves and put a
blanket on my lap. Suck it up and take it like
a man.
1/4/2013: 4 degrees F outside. Garage temp
dropped to 39 F inside.
1/12/2013: -5 degrees F outside. Garage temp
is 36 degrees F inside.

70 MPH (112 KPH)PM motor RPM is voltage dependent. With front
wheels off the ground, max top speed is 85mph.
Actual top speed is less due to wind loads and
sustained amp draw limitations in the motor.
Motor is also too tiny (not enough heat
dissipation) to try to push much faster for
very long.
1/4/2012: While it was 19 degrees F outside,
I got it up to 68 mph on a flat stretch of I-
15.
12/11/2013: Top speed is 77 mph down hill.
High rpm limits current draw in motor. Air
resistance prevents going any faster, even
down-hill.
11/14/2014 Top speed on flat stretch is 70
mph.

Acceleration

Awesome! Much better than original Geo.
Excellent acceleration up to about 40mph.
As PM motor reaches higher RPM, peak power
drops off.
From 40-65mph, acceleration is not great but
adequate.

Range

80 Miles (128 Kilometers)12/22/2012: Drove 80.5 freeway miles
(averaging 55 mph) and 10 city miles all on
one charge.
Odometer showed 76.6 miles but Google Maps
showed route as 80.5 miles.
BMS showed range as zero but there was still
some battery left.
11/2013: Drove from Kaysville to Logan 67
miles strait shot. Had 25% SOC remaining.
12/2014: Drove 65 miles and had 19% SOC
remaining. 2 years later and no measurable
loss of range.

Watt Hours/Mile

160 Wh/Mile This is based off of several charge cycles
(average speed 55 mph) and measuring energy
from Kill-A-Watt meter from the wall to re-
charge pack.

Originally was 225 Whr/mile. Grill block and
undercarriage cover brought it down quite a
bit. Oh, I also removed exterior rear-view
mirrors and installed interior ones.

1/18/2013: Notice the motor pulls more amps
in 5th gear vs. 4th gear, even at the same
speed. I don't know why.
I keep it in 4th gear but my top speed is only
about 58+mph, which is fine by me.
I only put it into 5th when I want to go
faster, which is only for a couple mile
stretch of my daily commute.
3/15/2013: Rear wheel skirts and kamm-back
brought energy usage down to 181 Wh/mi.
7/2013: Summer driving with lower air density
has brought energy usage down significantly.
As low as 155 Wh/mi.
10/2014: Found resistive losses in cable going
to the charger bringing down efficiency.
Replaced with a shorter cable with higher AWG
wire 160 Wh/mi average.

EV Miles

Start:

41,862 Miles (67,355 Kilometers)

Current:

59,349 Miles (95,492 Kilometers)

Total:

17,487 Miles (28,136 Kilometers)

Seating Capacity

4 adults. Rear seating has been preserved.
This comes in very handy for hauling kids to
school.
2014:It isn't very often but at times I haul 6
people, (on residential streets only).
Can carry a lot of stuff. I once hauled 800
lbs. of concrete and eight 4x4 posts.

5 months, (most of that was waiting for the
LiFePo4 batteries to get here).

Conversion Cost

$~8300:
$460 for the car, $30 paint job
$1400 for motor, throttle, contactor and
controller.
$4200 for LiFe batteries
$500 for charger,
$700 for Ligoo BMS.
Another $900 for stupid customs fees.

Additional Features

All LED lights (less headlights).
Homemade motor mount made out of a 12" steel gusset.
Homemade motor shaft coupler made out of a 6" steel gusset
welded to a 7/8" shaft coupler. Original clutch disk is
riveted and bolted onto the gusset.
1/2015: 2 years and 17,000 miles later, the shaft coupler is working
like new. I'm a better welder than I thought.

Ligoo Battery management system with 3.5" screen. LOVE IT!

Mounted 8 cells under rear seat (where the gas tank used to
be). 10 cells are above the motor and 6 cells in the front of the
engine compartment just behind the grill.